[Wolves] PostgreSQL talk

[Alex Willmer]

On 26 August 2010 01:09, Chris Ellis <chris.ellis.intrbiz at googlemail.com> wrote:
> Hi
>
> Several people expressed interest in a PostgreSQL talk at LUG.  As
> mentioned, I would be very happy to give a talk on PostgreSQL.  As It
> would give me a chance to cover some topics I'm hoping to speak on at
> an upcoming PostgreSQL conference.

Sounds great, just one would be good for an evening talk, or several
together would work nicely as a weekend session.

> What topics would people be most interested in? (A few suggestions below)
>  * Basic intro to databases and SQL
>     - goals and ideas behind a relational database
>     - what is SQL
>     - quick overview of the SQL syntax
>     - common SQL commands

Useful, but don't spend too much time on it. Assume people know what a
select, an insert and an update statement do.

>  * What is PostgreSQL and why do I love it
>  * Getting started with PostgreSQL, pgAdmin3 and psql
>     - installing
>     - basic initial configuration
>     - creating relations and constraints
>     - data types and extensions
>     - loading data
>     - querying data
>     - manipulating data
>     - using psql instead of pgAdmin3

A good core for a weekend. I'd suggest starting with Postgres
installed form OS packages, and configuring a new database. Then use
that to introduce the features

>  * Performance tuning
>     - performance configuration parameters
>     - tuning for differing workloads
>     - knowing when the planner is better than you
>     - query optimisation
>     - using EXPLAIN
>     - benchmarking
>     - statistics, the planner and autovacuum
>  * Full text search
>     - querying a table using FTS
>     - making it quicker
>  * Hardware issues and considerations
>     - RAID controllers
>     - doing it on the cheap
>     - general tips for good database hardware

Also good material for a weekend.

>  * Spatial data
>     - overview of PostGIS
>     - creating spatially extended tables
>     - loading spatial data
>     - spatial queries
>     - making spatial queries faster
>  * Procedural SQL
>     - overview of functions
>     - creating a PL/PGSQL function
>     - arguments and variables
>     - queries
>     - control statements
>  * Replication and clustering
>     - overview
>     - asynchronous vs synchronous
>     - Slony, DRBD, HAProxy
>     - upcoming features in V9.0
>     - caveats

Much as these interest me, I'm tempted to suggest not concentrating on
these. Give an overview, but dedicate time to the basics. New 9.0
features would be a good closing point.

>  * Using PostgreSQL from your application
>     - Java
>     - Python (Maybe, if Alex would give me a hand)

I'm happy to help out with this.

>  * Case studies
>     - how I make use of PostgreSQL at Shropshire Council
>     - Skype - PL/Proxy and a overview on how Skype aim to scale
> PostgreSQL to handle 1 billion users

I'd love to hear about this part, I suspect it would gel well with the
performance tuning/hardware topics.

>  * Where to go for help
>     - manuals
>     - books
>     - mailing list


> The above list is probably to long for one evening, so please express
> what would be of most interest to you.  It would also be useful to
> have a hint as to peoples skill level with SQL.

1 or 2 of those topics would be plenty for an evening. Half or two
thirds would be a good amount for a weekend.

> What dates would best suit people?
> Would people be more interested in making it a 'workshop' at a weekend?

I'd like to do 1 day, or 2 lazy days over a weekend. Dave's dates are
good for me.